UP: Police begin probe over recitation of Allama Iqbal prayer in government school

BAREILLY : Police have recorded the statements of staff at a school here over the recitation of "madrassa-type prayers", a charge levelled by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad over an Urdu prayer written by Allama Iqbal. The school principal, Nahid Siddiqui, has been suspended and a probe ordered against shiksha mitra (para teacher) Waziruddin after they were booked by the police in connection with this, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Vinay Kumar said. The incident happened at a government higher primary school located in Faridpur, he said.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rajkumar Agarwal on Friday said, "We have recorded the statements of staff of the school and have sent a video of the alleged incident for forensic examination." In the video children can be heard singing, "Mere Allah burai se bachana mujhko, nek jo rah ho us rah pe chalana mujhko...Lab pe aati he dua ban ke tamanna meri..."

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Some members of the local unit of the VHP accused Siddiqui and Waziruddin of hurting religious sentiments of the people in a Hindu-dominated area, Kumar said. The VHP members also alleged that the accused were trying to convert the students, he said. Based on a complaint by the VHP's city president Sompal Rathore, an FIR was registered against the principal and the shiksha mitra on Wednesday.